


Moving Swiftly

by FictionPenned



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-07
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:26:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24063559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FictionPenned/pseuds/FictionPenned
Summary: A collection of unconnected drabbles based on a selection of lyric prompts submitted by my followers on tumblr. Covers a wide variety of characters and fandoms, and each chapter will be labelled with its respective characters for easy navigation in the dropdown menu.
Relationships: Thirteenth Doctor & Yasmin Khan & Graham O'Brien & Ryan Sinclair
Kudos: 10





	1. The Thirteenth Doctor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anonymous submitted: “if i bleed, you’ll be the last to know.” for Thirteenth Doctor & whoever you want to insert here

The life of a survivor is a life of crippling, crushing guilt. The Doctor knows it well. She has survived wars, torn down empires, destroyed her own people, but none of it is quite the same as standing in the ashes of a fallen planet and knowing in the very pit of her soul that it will not be revived again. Gallifrey has fallen for the last time. There will be no miracles, no bubble universes, no last minute rescues. Her planet perished in fire and violence and she was elsewhere, and even worse, the Master _knew_ she was elsewhere. He knew that as he tore through the Citadel and brought down adults and children alike that the Doctor was not in their ranks. He knew that in condemning everyone else to die, he was condemning the renegades to live. Alone. Adrift. Spread across the universe without a home to which they might one day return.   
  
She has lived in that reality before. She has known that guilt that eats a person from the inside out, but for a brief and fleeting moment, she was absolved of it. She returned to something that almost could resemble normalcy if she closed her eyes and covered her ears and took a step back from the people around her, but even that feigned peace has been stolen from her. She has nothing but the pain and sorrow that claw at the inside of her chest, begging for release, and the fam that she keeps dutifully ignorant.   
  
She hides that darkness from her fam as best as she can. She shoves shadows into dusty corners and bottles up her grief and slaps a smile over her secrets. 

They don’t have to know about the dreadful knowledge that lurks in her mind or the terrible history that haunts her footsteps. To them, she’s just the Doctor, and she likes being just the Doctor. She likes the lack of strings attached. She likes forgoing the hundred asterisks that usually follow her name. When she’s with her friends, she gets to pretend that she is only a traveller from someplace vague and far away and never really defined.   
  
Her fam does not think to ask difficult questions or check if she might be bleeding from an unseen wound, and things are better that way. It is harder to hurt people if you keep them distant, and if she does not hurt them, then maybe they won’t ever pack up and leave her behind, and she won’t have to suffer through another heartsbreak and start the process all over again.   
  
Of course, it means that she holds the destruction of Gallifrey too close for comfort, that her guilt scrambles her insides into an ugly mess, that she has to suffer through being one of the last of her kind completely and utterly _alone_ , but surely that’s preferable to the alternative. Surely it’s better than breaking their fragile faith in her and losing another set of people. She’s only just got these ones, after all. They’re brand new, and maybe they’ll never figure out how much darkness lurks behind her eyes. Maybe they’ll never see the trail of invisible blood in her wake. Maybe she’ll never cave beneath the pressure and succumb to the temptation to expose both the depths of her pain and the failings that caused it to them. They don’t need to know.   
  
They _never_ need to know.


	2. Luna Lovegood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anonymous submitted: "What if I'm all right, right here?" for Luna Lovegood

Moonlight filters through the dappled trees that line the school’s grounds, shining brightly against the blonde of the girl’s hair and softly glinting on the beads and metal of her homemade jewelry. Luna may be alone out here in the dark cover of night, but she doesn’t _feel_ alone. There are creatures in the trees and magic in the air and if she tilts her head at just the right angle, she suspects that she can see a nargle floating in the frayed edges of her vision. There is an entire world out here, lurking beyond the limited awareness of her fellow students and right outside of the strict confines of curfew. Technically speaking, she isn’t allowed to be out here, but people rarely bother to notice her, and if, perchance, they do, then the worst consequence she might receive is a few lost points and a couple nights of detention, and she cannot say that she has ever particularly cared about the House Cup or resented the loss of her free time. Perhaps one of her friends would even manage to land themselves in detention with her. That would be nice. They always seem to be in detention, especially the Gryffindors. Never ones for rules, those lions.   
  
Somewhere behind her, silence stirs and gathers, chasing away the more comforting creatures. With it, it carries dread and terror and the horrid sensation of goosebumps prickling down her spine. She does not turn, she does not stop her steps, she does not cry for help or begin to wish that she brought someone with her for company. She merely slips her wand out from behind her ear and summons up a memory of warmth and belonging and secret lessons and shared laughter.  
  
“ _Expecto Patronum!_ ”   
  
The spell is not loud, but it is no less effective for it. A rabbit bursts from the tip of her wand in a flash of silvery light, turning in midair and rushing towards whatever horror lies behind her. She does not turn to face the unknown. She does not need to give it the satisfaction of fear or combat or whatever else it might be searching for out beneath the cover of night. It is not long before her guardian returns to her and the sensation of creeping horror retreats from her skin. Her breaths are steady, her heartbeat stays balanced, and she greets the summoned friend with a smile.   
  
“Would you like to walk with me?”   
  
There is no rule that says that patronuses must only be used in open combat. Perhaps they can simply be pleasant company when the proper world is asleep within their respective dormitories. Rather than dissipate into first smoke and then nothingness, the rabbit lingers. It stays by her side and experiences this hidden part of the world with her, absorbing the moonlight and taking in the sounds and wonder of the forbidden grounds after dark.   
  
Despite the moment’s intrusion, there is no fear to be found in her heart or in her mind. The music of the night returns and the familiar rustle of kind creatures in the bushes and the leaves of the trees and the depths of the tall grass return. Somewhere on the lake, she can even see the giant squid floating on the surface of the water, silver and slippery and content.   
  
She is perfectly all right right here, in the dappled light beneath the twinkling stars and the steady presence of the moonlight.


End file.
